Interview: “Its a superstition i guess. It’s a superstition like walking under a ladder. If you split the pole when you’re walking next to somebody, and you both go to different sides of the pole its bad luck. Which, I don’t know, probably came from it being unsafe to be on the other side, the side closer to the road.
I dont know if anyone really believes the bad luck part, I guess its just disrespectful, you know, to the person you’re walking with.”

Context: The informant is 21 years old. He first remembers encountering the superstition in grade school, but says it remains a relatively common practice among friends.

Analysis: This superstition is so common that I really never stopped to think about where it actually came from. While the informants hypothesis about road safety seems to be incorrect, it shows how superstitions like this can survive just fine without any knowledge of their history.
Another reason this belief probably survives so well is how naturally the superstition fits with the ritual itself. The idea that putting that physical barrier between two people would also contribute to a distancing in their relationship makes sense on a certain level, and shows the importance of having that parallel between the physical and symbolic.